- 1 day ago
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00:00Blood smells like copper in regret.
00:02It's the first thing that hits me when the glass explodes.
00:04My knees slam the tiled floor behind the cafe counter,
00:07hands clutching the edge as screams erupt outside.
00:10I see a man stumble through the doorway,
00:12one hand pressed to his side,
00:14blood darkening his white shirt.
00:17The coffee I was pouring is still steaming on the counter.
00:21Ten minutes ago,
00:22this was just another dull Tuesday at Carmine's Beans.
00:25Now there's a gunshot echoing off the walls,
00:27and I'm ducking behind the espresso machine,
00:30praying I don't die between the milk frother and the muffin display.
00:34Stay down, a voice rasps.
00:37Deep, cold, commanding.
00:41I freeze.
00:42That voice doesn't belong in this neighborhood.
00:45It carries authority, danger,
00:47the kind that makes your pulse betray you.
00:50The man steps around the counter,
00:52blood trailing like a signature.
00:55Dark hair slicked back,
00:56jaw carved in stone,
00:58eyes sharp enough to cut.
01:00He's holding a gun,
01:01and his shirt, white once, is ruined.
01:04He looks like sin and violence stitched into human form.
01:07I, uh, you're bleeding.
01:11I stammer,
01:12my voice cracking like cheap glass.
01:14He glances at me,
01:16expression unreadable.
01:17You shouldn't have seen this.
01:19And that's the exact moment I know I've stepped into something fatal.
01:22The back door bursts open.
01:25Another man barrels in, shouting something in Italian.
01:28I don't wait.
01:29I grab the stranger's arm,
01:30because my body moves before my brain,
01:32and drag him through the kitchen toward the alley exit.
01:35He stumbles,
01:36curses low.
01:37I shove open the metal door and pull him into the rain.
01:40Gunfire cracks behind us.
01:42My breath turns white in the cold.
01:44He jerks me to the side,
01:46pushing me against the wall,
01:47shielding me with his body as bullets bite into the brick.
01:50His weight pins me there,
01:52solid, heavy, terrifying.
01:53Why the hell are you helping me?
01:55He growls,
01:56voice rough in my ear.
01:57I, I don't know.
01:59I whisper.
02:00Instinct?
02:00He huffs out something that might be a laugh,
02:03but there's no humor in it.
02:05Just pain,
02:06sirens scream in the distance.
02:08He looks down at his blood-soaked hand,
02:10then back at me.
02:11Inside, now.
02:12I can't,
02:13he doesn't wait.
02:14He grabs my wrist and pulls me into the shadows,
02:17deeper into the maze of the alley.
02:18We end up in the back of an abandoned building two blocks over.
02:24My breath's ragged,
02:25heart battering my ribs.
02:26He's fading,
02:27slumping against the wall,
02:29gun slipping from his fingers.
02:30I should run.
02:31Call the cops.
02:33Pretend this never happened.
02:34But I don't.
02:36Instead,
02:37I tear open the first aid kit from under the old sink.
02:40My hands shake as I kneel in front of him.
02:43You need to stay awake,
02:44I mutter,
02:45pressing gauze to the wound in his side.
02:47If you pass out,
02:49you're dead.
02:50His eyes,
02:51gray,
02:51stormy,
02:52too alive,
02:52lock onto mine.
02:53You don't scare easy,
02:55do you?
02:55I work night shifts at a cafe downtown.
02:58I shoot back.
02:59I've seen worse.
03:01Lie.
03:02I've never seen worse than this.
03:04His lips twitch like he almost smiles.
03:07Name?
03:07Eva?
03:08He nods once.
03:10Luca.
03:10There's something in the way he says it.
03:13Like I should recognize it.
03:14And I do.
03:16A second too late.
03:17Luca DeLuca.
03:18The DeLuca family.
03:19The name whispered in news reports,
03:21courtroom testimony.
03:23The same one I gave evidence against a year ago.
03:26My pulse spikes.
03:28I pull my hand back like I've been burned.
03:30You're...
03:31Don't.
03:31He warns softly.
03:33Finish patching me up first.
03:35Every rational thought screams at me to run,
03:38but my hands keep working.
03:40Blood soaks through the gauze.
03:41His breath hitches when I press too hard.
03:43The silence stretches until it feels like the whole world's holding its breath.
03:48When I finally tape the bandage,
03:50he exhales,
03:52leaning his head back against the wall.
03:54The rain outside slows to a whisper.
03:57You shouldn't be here, I say.
04:00Whoever shot you,
04:01they won't find me.
04:02His tone is iron.
04:04They'll find you if you keep talking.
04:06Excuse me?
04:07He opens his eyes again, sharper now.
04:10You think testifying against us means you're safe?
04:12You think the feds will protect you forever?
04:15They moved on.
04:16But we didn't.
04:18The words hit harder than the sirens ever could.
04:20My stomach drops.
04:22You're here for that?
04:23His expression flickers.
04:25Guilt.
04:25Anger.
04:26Something darker.
04:27I'm here because someone inside my world wants me dead.
04:31And because you're the only person who saw what happened in court who didn't lie.
04:34I shake my head.
04:37I told the truth.
04:38That's all.
04:40Truth gets people killed in my world, Eva.
04:43The way he says my name sends a shiver crawling up my spine.
04:46Not fear, exactly.
04:47Something worse.
04:48I stand, backing up toward the door.
04:50You need to leave before someone sees us.
04:53He pushes himself up slowly, wincing.
04:55Even bleeding, he moves like power wrapped in skin.
04:58You saved my life.
05:00That makes you mine to protect.
05:01I don't need your protection.
05:05He steps closer.
05:06Close enough that I can smell the mix of rain and smoke on his skin.
05:10You will.
05:11The air between us hums.
05:13Danger and heat and something that makes my knees weak.
05:17I hate that my pulse answers him.
05:19He turns toward the door, gun back in hand.
05:22They'll come for me again.
05:23Stay quiet.
05:24Don't tell anyone you saw me.
05:26Why would I help you?
05:27He glances back, eyes softer for a fraction of a second.
05:30Because deep down, you know I'm not the monster they said I was.
05:35Then he's gone.
05:37Swallowed by the rain and darkness.
05:40For the next hour, I sit in that empty room listening to my heartbeat.
05:45I replay every second.
05:47The glass.
05:48The blood.
05:49His voice saying my name.
05:51My rational brain screams that he's dangerous.
05:54That he's everything I promised I'd stay away from.
05:56But the way he looked at me.
05:59It wasn't like I was a witness or an enemy.
06:01It was like I was already caught in his world.
06:04When I finally get home, my apartment feels smaller.
06:08Like the walls know something I don't.
06:11I lock the door twice.
06:13Pour a shot of whiskey with shaking hands.
06:15The news plays in the background.
06:17Reports of a gunfight downtown.
06:19Possible organized crime involvement.
06:21No names yet.
06:22I tell myself he won't come back.
06:25That this was just bad luck.
06:27Wrong place.
06:28Wrong time.
06:30But when I step out of the shower, there's a note slid under my door.
06:34White paper.
06:34My name written in bold, confident ink.
06:37Don't open your shop tomorrow.
06:38Stay home.
06:39L.
06:40My breath catches.
06:41How the hell does he know where I live?
06:43I tear the note in half.
06:44But my fingers tremble.
06:46For a man I met hours ago, he's already in my head.
06:49I barely sleep.
06:50Every sound outside drags me half awake.
06:53I keep thinking about that moment in the alley.
06:55The weight of him shielding me.
06:57The raw edge of his voice.
06:59By morning, the city looks the same.
07:02But I'm not.
07:03My ordinary life, my quiet, safe routine, is cracked open.
07:07And when I open my front door to grab the newspaper, there's a sleek black car idling
07:12at the curb.
07:13A man in a suit stands beside it.
07:16Sunglasses hiding his eyes.
07:18He tips his chin toward me.
07:20Miss Evans.
07:22Mr. DeLuca requests a word.
07:23The words freeze me mid-step.
07:26The last time I heard DeLuca was in a courtroom under oath.
07:30Now it's outside my building, wrapped in menace and luxury.
07:33I should slam the door.
07:35Call the cops.
07:36Pretend none of this is happening.
07:38Instead, I find myself saying,
07:41Give me five minutes.
07:42Because deep down, I already know.
07:45My life isn't mine anymore.
07:46I'm not.
07:49The car smells like leather, gun oil, and power.
07:53I sit rigid in the back seat, watching the city slide by in blurred streaks of gray.
07:58The man driving doesn't speak.
08:00His eyes never leave the road.
08:01It's too quiet.
08:02Quiet like before a storm.
08:05We pull up to a mansion on the edge of the city.
08:09Black gates.
08:10High walls.
08:11Security cameras turning like mechanical eyes.
08:13The kind of place that screams money with blood on it.
08:16When the door opens, he's there.
08:18Luca.
08:19Not bleeding this time.
08:22Not broken.
08:23Dressed in a tailored black suit that fits him like it was stitched from the night itself.
08:27His hair is damp, his tie loose.
08:29And when his eyes meet mine, I forget how to breathe.
08:32You came, he says.
08:34Not a question.
08:35A statement layered with something between triumph and warning.
08:39I didn't have a choice.
08:40He tilts his head, half amused.
08:43Everyone has a choice.
08:44Yours just happens to be between safety and death.
08:48His voice slides through me like smoke.
08:50I follow him inside, every instinct screaming that I shouldn't.
08:54The house is immaculate.
08:55Cold marble.
08:56Expensive art.
08:58Silence that hums with hidden danger.
09:01You live here alone?
09:02I ask, trying to sound casual.
09:05Define alone.
09:07He leads me into a room that looks like a study.
09:10Bookshelves towering.
09:11Windows overlooking the city lights.
09:13He motions to the couch.
09:15Sit.
09:17I'm not your pet.
09:18No.
09:19He says softly, stepping closer.
09:22You're the woman who saw me bleed.
09:25That makes you something else entirely.
09:28I sit anyway.
09:29Mostly because my knees might give out.
09:32He pours two glasses of whiskey and hands me one.
09:35You testified against the DeLuca family last year.
09:38I read every word of your statement.
09:40My chest tightens.
09:41That was the truth.
09:42He nods slowly.
09:44Maybe.
09:45But you didn't name me.
09:46Why?
09:46I stare at him.
09:48At the faint scar tracing his jaw.
09:50The calm in his eyes that doesn't match the violence I know he's capable of.
09:54Because I didn't see you there.
09:56I only told them what I knew.
09:58And yet you knew enough to put one of my men behind bars.
10:01He killed someone in front of me.
10:03I snap.
10:04You expect me to stay silent?
10:06His mouth curves in something that isn't quite a smile.
10:09I expect honesty.
10:11You're the only person who ever spoke it.
10:13There's something raw in the way he says that.
10:16Something that catches me off guard.
10:18He leans back, studying me.
10:21I can't decide if you're brave or suicidal.
10:23Maybe both, I mutter.
10:26He chuckles, the sound low and rough.
10:29I have enemies, Eva.
10:31The men who shot at me yesterday, they weren't cops.
10:35They were Bruno's.
10:36Rival family.
10:37Someone fed them my location.
10:39And you think I know who?
10:41He shakes his head.
10:42No, but they know you.
10:44They've seen your face.
10:45You're a liability now.
10:47The words settle like ice in my stomach.
10:49So what, I'm supposed to hide here?
10:51He looks at me, eyes sharp.
10:53Until it's safe.
10:55I can't stay here.
10:56You can.
10:56And you will.
10:58There's finality in his tone that leaves no space for argument.
11:01I stand anyway.
11:03You don't get to decide where I live.
11:05He closes the distance between us in two strides.
11:08I feel the heat of him.
11:09Smell the faint mix of whiskey and smoke.
11:12You're under my protection now.
11:13You walk out that door and they'll put a bullet in your back before sunset.
11:18The room feels smaller.
11:19The air heavier.
11:20My heart hammers so loud I'm sure he can hear it.
11:23This isn't protection, I whisper.
11:26It's control, his gaze darkens.
11:28Control is what keeps people alive in my world.
11:31We stand there.
11:32Too close.
11:33Too charged.
11:35The silence is thick enough to drown in.
11:37His hand lifts.
11:38Fingers brushing a stray hair from my face.
11:41It's a gentle touch.
11:42Careful.
11:43Almost reverent.
11:44I hate how much I lean into it.
11:46You should rest, he murmurs.
11:48You'll stay in the east wing.
11:50Don't wander.
11:51He turns to leave, but I catch his wrist without thinking.
11:54Why are you doing this?
11:55You could have killed me yesterday.
11:57You could have let me die.
11:58His jaw clenches.
11:59Because I owe you a debt.
12:01And because once,
12:02someone saved me when they shouldn't have.
12:05His words hang in the air,
12:07heavy with something unsaid.
12:08Then he's gone.
12:10And I'm alone in a mansion that feels like a gilded cage.
12:14The next few days blur together.
12:16Guards at every door.
12:18Luca disappears for hours.
12:19Sometimes all night.
12:21When he returns,
12:22his knuckles are bruised.
12:24His shirt collar stained with someone else's blood.
12:26I try not to look.
12:28One evening,
12:29thunder rolls outside and the power flickers.
12:32I'm in the kitchen,
12:33trying to pretend I'm not terrified.
12:35When he walks in,
12:36tie gone,
12:37shirt unbuttoned at the throat,
12:39tension in every line of his body.
12:41You've been pacing,
12:43he says without looking up from pouring himself a drink.
12:46I'm trapped,
12:48I bite out.
12:49What do you expect me to do,
12:50knit?
12:51He smirks,
12:52eyes flicking to me.
12:53I didn't take you for the domestic type.
12:56I'm not,
12:57I say,
12:57stepping closer.
12:59But I also didn't sign up to be your hostage.
13:01He sets the glass down with a soft clink.
13:04You're not a hostage,
13:06then let me go.
13:07His eyes harden.
13:09You don't get it,
13:09do you?
13:10The second you walked into that alley,
13:12you became part of this.
13:14Part of what,
13:14Luca?
13:15Your war,
13:16your empire,
13:17your ego?
13:18My world,
13:18he says quietly.
13:20The rain pounds harder.
13:22I meet his gaze,
13:22and for a moment,
13:23there's no noise at all.
13:25Just him,
13:26and me,
13:27and the steady pulse of something that shouldn't exist.
13:30He steps closer.
13:32I should move.
13:33I don't.
13:35His hand lifts again,
13:36this time tracing the side of my neck.
13:39My breath catches.
13:41Why are you looking at me like that?
13:42I whisper.
13:44Because I don't know if I want to kiss you
13:46or lock you somewhere safe
13:47where no one can touch you.
13:49The words slice through me.
13:52My pulse stumbles.
13:53He leans in,
13:54but stops just shy of my lips.
13:56His restraint feels more intimate
13:57than any touch could be.
13:59Then his phone buzzes.
14:01The moment shatters.
14:02He steps back,
14:03jaw-tight,
14:04answering with clipped Italian.
14:06Whatever he hears turns his face to stone.
14:08When he hangs up,
14:09his voices steal.
14:11They found the man who betrayed me.
14:12He's one of mine.
14:13I swallow.
14:14And what happens to him?
14:16He looks at me,
14:17eyes unreadable.
14:18Justice.
14:19That night,
14:20I see what that means.
14:21From the second floor window,
14:23I watch him in the courtyard.
14:25Rain pouring.
14:27Men standing in a circle.
14:29Luca holds a gun.
14:31The traitor kneels.
14:32One shot.
14:32Clean.
14:33Cold.
14:34Final.
14:35My stomach twists.
14:36He turns his head slightly,
14:38catching me watching.
14:39Our eyes meet across the rain.
14:41He doesn't flinch.
14:43Doesn't hide.
14:45Later,
14:45he finds me sitting on the floor of the library,
14:47knees pulled to my chest.
14:49You shouldn't have seen that.
14:51He says quietly.
14:53I think I needed to.
14:55He studies me for a long moment.
14:58You think I'm a monster now?
15:00I think you're exactly what the world made you.
15:03For the first time,
15:03he looks away.
15:05You're the only person who's ever said that.
15:08There's silence again,
15:10heavy and strange.
15:11When he sits beside me,
15:12his shoulder brushes mine.
15:14The contact sends a spark straight through my spine.
15:18Tomorrow,
15:19he says finally.
15:21I'm sending you to one of my safe houses outside the city.
15:24You'll stay there until this is over.
15:26And if I refuse?
15:27He leans closer,
15:28his breath warm against my ear.
15:30Then I'll carry you there myself.
15:32I should be angry.
15:33I should tell him to go to hell.
15:35But part of me,
15:36the reckless,
15:37broken part,
15:38feels safer with him than I've ever felt alone.
15:42That night,
15:43sleep won't come.
15:45Lightning flashes across the ceiling.
15:47I hear footsteps in the hall.
15:49And before I can stop myself,
15:50I open the door.
15:52He's standing there,
15:53shirt half undone,
15:54eyes darker than midnight.
15:56Couldn't sleep either,
15:57he asks.
15:58Not with everything spinning in my head.
16:01He steps inside,
16:02closing the door softly behind him.
16:05For a heartbeat,
16:06neither of us moves.
16:07Then he brushes his thumb across my jaw,
16:09slow and deliberate.
16:11Tell me to leave,
16:12he says,
16:13voice low.
16:14I can't.
16:16His lips find mine,
16:17soft at first,
16:19then deeper,
16:20rougher.
16:21It's not gentle.
16:22It's desperate,
16:23restrained hunger,
16:24and something neither of us can name.
16:26When he pulls away,
16:27his forehead rests against mine.
16:30This shouldn't happen,
16:32he murmurs.
16:33You're supposed to be safe.
16:35Maybe I don't want safe.
16:36He exhales like it hurts.
16:38You have no idea what you're saying.
16:41But he kisses me again anyway.
16:43Slower this time,
16:44and for a few stolen seconds.
16:46The world outside doesn't exist.
16:48Then,
16:49as if the universe needs to remind us who he is,
16:51the sound of gunfire cracks through the night.
16:54He's out of bed before I can blink,
16:56gun in hand.
16:58Stay here,
16:59he orders.
17:00Luca,
17:01stay.
17:02Do not move.
17:03The thunder outside swallows his footsteps as he disappears down the hall.
17:07I press a hand to my chest,
17:09heart racing.
17:10The echoes of his kiss are still on my lips,
17:13the danger closing in again.
17:15Somewhere deep down,
17:16I know this is the point of no return.
17:19The house explodes into chaos.
17:25Gunfire rattles through the marble halls,
17:27sharp and merciless.
17:29I drop to the floor as glass shatters somewhere nearby.
17:32The power cuts out.
17:33For a second,
17:34the mansion feels alive,
17:36breathing smoke,
17:38echoing screams.
17:39I crawl toward the doorway,
17:42heart hammering so hard I can taste metal.
17:45Every instinct says to stay down,
17:47but I can't.
17:48Not when he's out there.
17:50Footsteps thunder up the stairs.
17:52Multiple men,
17:54shouting in Italian.
17:55I catch fragments,
17:57Brunos,
17:57kill him,
17:58find the girl,
17:59me.
18:00I push myself up,
18:02clutching the edge of the wall.
18:04My bare feet are slick against the tile.
18:06The storm outside lights the windows like strobe flashes,
18:09every burst revealing how wrong this night has gone.
18:13I grab the first thing I see,
18:15a heavy silver candle holder,
18:17an edge into the hallway.
18:19Shadows move.
18:20A man rounds the corner,
18:21gun raised.
18:22I don't think,
18:23I swing.
18:23The metal connects with his jaw,
18:25a sick crack echoing down the hall.
18:27He drops.
18:28My hands are shaking so hard I can barely breathe.
18:31I've never hit anyone in my life.
18:33Then I hear it,
18:34Luca's voice,
18:35distant but sharp,
18:36slicing through the chaos.
18:38Get her out!
18:39No one's near me.
18:41He doesn't know I'm still upstairs.
18:43I run,
18:43down the staircase,
18:45ducking behind pillars as bullets tear into the walls.
18:48The front doors open,
18:49rain sweeping in.
18:50Outside,
18:51men in black suits fire into the dark.
18:53The courtyard looks like a war zone,
18:55and in the middle of it,
18:57him.
18:58Luca stands like a storm-given shape.
19:01Gun in one hand,
19:02blood streaked across his cheek,
19:04eyes burning with fury.
19:05Every shot he fires is precise,
19:08deliberate.
19:08The men around him fall like chess pieces.
19:11Then someone aims at his back.
19:12I scream.
19:14Luca!
19:14He turns just in time to see me,
19:16and the man behind him.
19:18Without thinking,
19:19I grab the fallen guard's gun from the ground and fire.
19:22My ears ring.
19:24The man drops.
19:25For a heartbeat,
19:26everything stops.
19:27The rain,
19:27the gunfire,
19:28even my breath.
19:29Luca stares at me,
19:30disbelief flickering across his face.
19:33Then his expression hardens.
19:34Ava, run!
19:35A car screeches through the gates.
19:37More men pour out.
19:38I duck behind a pillar as Luca returns fire.
19:41Two guards grab me,
19:42dragging me back toward the house,
19:43but I fight like hell,
19:45kicking,
19:45clawing,
19:46desperate.
19:46Let her go!
19:48Luca roars.
19:49They don't.
19:50One shoves me into the marble wall.
19:52My skull cracks against it,
19:53stars bursting in my vision.
19:55I hear Luca's voice again.
19:57Closer this time.
19:58Colder.
19:59Then a single gunshot ends the man holding me.
20:02Luca's arm wraps around my waist before I can fall.
20:05I told you to stay upstairs,
20:07he growls,
20:08voice rough with anger and fear tangled together.
20:11I wasn't going to hide while you got yourself killed,
20:14I spit,
20:15trying to catch my breath.
20:16His grip tightens.
20:17You shouldn't have to see this.
20:20I already have.
20:22Our eyes lock,
20:23both of us soaked,
20:24shaking,
20:25alive.
20:26There's blood on his neck.
20:28Maybe his.
20:29Maybe someone else's.
20:30It doesn't matter.
20:32What matters is that we're still breathing.
20:34He presses a gun into my hand.
20:36If anyone gets through,
20:37you shoot.
20:38You understand?
20:40I'm not leaving you.
20:41He stares at me for a second
20:43that feels like forever.
20:45Then he nods.
20:46Then we finish this together.
20:48The fight burns through the night.
20:50By the time it's over,
20:51the driveway is littered with the wreckage of cars
20:53and men who won't get up again.
20:56The Brunos are done.
20:58The DeLuca estate stands,
21:00barely,
21:00but alive.
21:02I'm sitting on the steps,
21:04shivering under a blanket
21:05someone threw over my shoulders.
21:07The air reeks of gunpowder and rain.
21:09My hands won't stop trembling.
21:11Luca walks toward me,
21:13slow,
21:14deliberate.
21:15His shirt is torn,
21:16streaked red,
21:17but he's still upright,
21:19still in control.
21:20He crouches in front of me,
21:21tilting my chin up with two fingers.
21:23You saved my life,
21:25he says quietly.
21:27You saved mine first.
21:29For the first time,
21:30his expression cracks.
21:32You could have died because of me.
21:34Maybe.
21:35But I'd already died once.
21:37The day I started running from everything.
21:40He exhales,
21:42a sound that's almost a laugh,
21:43but broken.
21:45You don't belong in my world.
21:47Then make it a world I can survive in.
21:50His eyes darken.
21:51That's not how this works.
21:53Then tell me how it does,
21:55I whisper.
21:56Because I'm done pretending
21:58I can go back to normal after this.
22:01He stands,
22:02pacing,
22:03hands gripping his hair.
22:05I've killed men, Ava.
22:06I've lied.
22:07I've burned things you can't unsee.
22:09You think you can handle that?
22:11I don't know,
22:11I admit.
22:13But I know what it feels like to be powerless,
22:15and I'm not that woman anymore.
22:17He stops moving.
22:19Slowly,
22:20he looks at me like he's seeing something dangerous in return.
22:23Something he didn't expect.
22:26You really don't scare easy.
22:28Not anymore.
22:30A flash of headlights cuts across the courtyard.
22:32One of his men approaches.
22:34Boss,
22:34the rest of them are handled.
22:36We found their leader.
22:37What do you want done?
22:39Luca's gaze flicks to me,
22:40then back to the man.
22:42Bring him here.
22:43Minutes later,
22:44two guards drag a man forward.
22:46Slick hair,
22:47face bruised,
22:48eyes darting between us.
22:50Luca takes his gun,
22:51checks the chamber.
22:52This is the one who ordered the hit.
22:54The man spits blood.
22:56You think you can stop what's coming to Luca?
22:58You're finished.
22:59Everyone knows you're protecting a rat.
23:02Luca's finger tightens on the trigger.
23:04I step forward.
23:05Don't.
23:05He doesn't look at me.
23:07He tried to kill you.
23:08And killing him makes you the same.
23:12For a moment,
23:13the rain fills the silence.
23:16Then Luca lowers the gun.
23:17Get him out of my sight.
23:18His men drag the traitor away.
23:20When we're alone again,
23:22I can see the war in his eyes.
23:24The part of him that wants to stay human,
23:26fighting the part that built an empire from blood.
23:30He turns toward me,
23:31voice raw.
23:33You shouldn't have stopped me.
23:35I didn't stop you.
23:36I reminded you who you are.
23:38He steps closer,
23:40rain dripping from his hair.
23:41You have no idea what that costs me.
23:44Then let me pay it with you.
23:46The space between us disappears.
23:49His hand finds the back of my neck,
23:51pulling me in.
23:52The kiss is fierce,
23:53claiming,
23:53desperate.
23:54It's not the careful brush from before.
23:56It's an explosion.
23:58Everything we've held back igniting at once.
24:01When we finally break apart,
24:03he presses his forehead against mine.
24:06If you stay,
24:07there's no way out.
24:08I already made my choice.
24:11His throat works as he swallows.
24:13Then you belong to me now.
24:15The words are a vow,
24:16not a threat.
24:17And somehow,
24:18it feels like the truth I've been running from.
24:21The next morning,
24:23the city feels different,
24:24calmer.
24:25Or maybe that's just me.
24:28We drive out to the cliffs,
24:30overlooking the water.
24:31His world's still half chaos,
24:33but quieter now.
24:34He stands beside me,
24:36hands in his pockets,
24:37the wind pulling at his shirt.
24:40For once,
24:40he looks almost human.
24:42I'm leaving the family,
24:43he says finally.
24:45I turn,
24:46stunned.
24:47What?
24:48They'll tear each other apart over power.
24:50Let them.
24:51I'm done watching blood by loyalty.
24:53And what about the people who come after you?
24:56He smiles faintly.
24:57Let them try.
24:59He looks at me.
25:01Really looks.
25:02And there's something softer there now.
25:04Something that wasn't allowed before.
25:06I can build something new.
25:08Clean.
25:09Legitimate.
25:10You made me remember what that feels like.
25:13Hope?
25:14He nods.
25:15Hope.
25:17For a long moment,
25:18we just stand there in the wind.
25:19I lean into him,
25:21my head against his shoulder.
25:23He slips an arm around my waist,
25:24pulling me closer.
25:25The ocean roars below,
25:27endless and untamed.
25:29You're shaking,
25:30he murmurs.
25:31I'm not cold.
25:33His mouth curves.
25:34Good.
25:35Because I'm done letting anything touch you.
25:38He turns me to face him,
25:40eyes dark but steady.
25:42I've spent my whole life fighting to keep people out.
25:45You broke in anyway.
25:47Maybe you needed someone, too.
25:49Maybe I did.
25:51He kisses me again,
25:52slower this time.
25:54The kind of kiss that feels like a promise instead of a mistake.
25:59When we pull apart,
26:00he brushes his thumb over my lips.
26:02You sure you're ready for this?
26:04I smile faintly.
26:06I testified against the mafia, Luca.
26:08I think I can handle being with one.
26:11He laughs quietly,
26:12the sound warm and rare.
26:15Not anymore.
26:16I told you.
26:17I'm done with that world.
26:19He looks out over the ocean.
26:20But if anyone ever comes for you again,
26:23his jaw tightens.
26:24They'll find out the devil retired,
26:26not died.
26:27I should be afraid.
26:29Instead,
26:29I feel alive.
26:31As the wind whips around us,
26:34I realize the truth.
26:35I didn't just survive his world.
26:38I changed it.
26:39And maybe,
26:39in saving him,
26:40I saved myself.
26:43Weeks later,
26:43I open my café again.
26:46The sign out front reads,
26:47Carmine's beans still,
26:49but the air feels new.
26:50The customers don't know
26:51that the man sitting in the corner
26:53with a newspaper and a quiet smile
26:54once ruled half the city.
26:56When our eyes meet,
26:58he raises his cup slightly,
27:00a private toast.
27:01I smile back,
27:02knowing no one else in the room
27:03will ever
27:04understand what that means.
27:07Because the man I once feared,
27:09the
27:09man I once testified against,
27:12is now the reason
27:13I can breathe easy
27:14again.
27:16And when I close the café that night,
27:18he's waiting outside.
27:19Same suit,
27:20same dangerous grin.
27:21Ready to go home?
27:22He asks.
27:23I take his hand without hesitation.
27:25Always.
27:27The city hums around us
27:28as we drive away,
27:29lights blurring into gold
27:30through the windshield.
27:32Somewhere behind us,
27:34the past burns quietly to ash.
27:37Ahead of us,
27:39something new begins.
27:41Still sharp,
27:42still uncertain,
27:43but ours.
27:44He reaches over,
27:47threading his fingers
27:48through mine.
27:49You realize you're never
27:50getting rid of me now,
27:51right?
27:52I squeeze his hand.
27:54Good.
27:55And for once,
27:56the darkness feels like
27:57a place we chose.
27:59If this story pulled you in,
28:01hit like so more people find it,
28:03subscribe to the channel
28:04for the next Dark Romance drop,
28:05and tell me in the comments
28:06where you're listening from.
28:08Your support keeps
28:09these stories alive.
28:14going in.
28:16You're watching.
28:16I'll see you next time.
28:16I'll see you next time.
28:16I'm going to go now.
28:17I'll see you next time.
28:18Let's go.
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